Loading... Community Disservice

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Posted Wed, Oct 07, 2009 by B. de la Durantaye

Welcome to the 1,181st edition of Loading...

Loading... is the premier daily MMORPG news, coverage, and commentary newsletter, only from Ten Ton Hammer.

Games come and go, but communities and friendships can last a lifetime. It is these communities and relationships that keep us coming back to our games, and are often more important than the game itself. Today Benjamin J. de la Durantaye sends out a plea to bring back the community to our games in Loading... Community Disservice.

The Pulse You vote with what you view at Ten Ton Hammer, and the result is the Ten Ton Pulse (What is The Pulse?). Here's today's top 5 Pulse results: World of Warcraft Dungeons & Dragons Online Star Trek Online Aion EverQuest 2 Biggest movers this past week: DUST 514 (up 83 to #19) Star Trek Online (up 29 to #11) Global Agenda (up 14 to #18)	Recent MMO Releases 8/25 - CrimeCraft (release date) 9/1 - Champions Online (release date) 9/9 - Dungeons & Dragons Online Unlimited (release date) 9/15 - Runes of Magic "The Elven Prophecy" (expansion) 9/22 - Fallen Earth (release date) 9/22 - Aion (release date)
	Upcoming Releases 10/9 - Cities XL (release date) 12/2 - DOFUS 2.0 (release date) Early 2010 - APB
	Important Dates 10/1 - 10/3 - EVE Online FanFest 10/23 - 10/24 - Hero-Con
Click here to explore the best free-to-play MMORPG - Runes of Magic The Elven Prophecy. Join now and create the ultimate fantasy hero.

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I stand by the philosophy that any game can be fun if played with the right people. I don't care if it's Pac-Man, Pong, or Pirates of the Burning Sea; if you bring your friends with you, you're going to have more fun than if you wade into the waters alone.

So why is it that virtually every MMOG nowadays caters to the soloing crowd during the leveling process? By human nature, players will always take the path of least resistance, and if that means they're better off to grind through solo quests, or solo kill thousands of mobs, then that's exactly what they'll do. Sure, it gives the advantage of ensuring everyone can level up in your game to maximum level, but should that really be the priority? Constant pandering of the solo player has not only had a hugely adverse effect on the gaming community, but it also affects the amount of fun players have in the game.

Granted, no one likes to sit LFG for hours because they can't do anything on their own. But instead of slapping in mountains of solo content, essentially making the bulk of the game soloable, perhaps other solutions need to be looked at. Maybe it's time to start veering away from class reliant content, and start looking at ways that get people playing together, socializing, and ultimately having fun. No one's going to go away from a game saying "Wow, I remember when I was soloing a quest to kill 10 spiders," but rather they'll remember "I loved that group I had one night that just clicked. We never met each other before, but everyone was on the ball. I made friends that night."

I play Aion on an "official unoffical" roleplaying server. I played Warhammer Online on a roleplaying server. I played WoW on a roleplaying server. The reason I do that is because I find that the type of players that are drawn to these servers tend to be a more social, fun crowd. With some exceptions, obviously, most people I run into in game are helpful, courteous, and just plain fun to be around. I find there is a lot more grouping on these servers, and a lot more opportunities to socialize and enjoy the content. That's why I play MMOGs. I don't play MASSIVELY MULTIPLAYER games to see who out of the seven people standing around a spawn point can get the kill first. I want to meet people, and I want to have fun doing it.

To this day, EverQuest Classic still stands as the most fun I've ever had in a MMOG. I've played other games all the way through to the end game as well - EverQuest 2, Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, Age of Conan, World of Warcraft and a plethora of other games I didn't play through to the end game. What made EverQuest stand out was that it was the only game where grouping was not an option - it was a requirement. Sure, I had plenty of days of frustration waiting for friends to log on, or trying to find a group, but ultimately it was being pushed into grouping and into the community that made the game the most entertaining, immersive and appealing game I've played to date. The reason it was such a valuable experience is that I made a lot of friends with a lot of people I would have never otherwise met. Several of these have become life-long friends outside of games.

I'm going down to Las Vegas this month, and will be spending a week with one of my best buds. We haven't gamed together in about four years now, but we became such close friends during the EQ days that our friendship transcended beyond the game and into our lives away from the PC. We've always stayed in touch after that, visiting each other when possible, or just calling each other every once in a while to say "hey." We do what all friends do - share our ups and downs with each other and offer support when the other is having a hard time, or celebrating together when life takes an upswing.

That, to me, is what makes a game great. It's not about who can put together the most efficient macros. It's not about who can clear ToC first. It's not even about the IP or story of the game. For this gamer, it's all about the community, and whether or not the game even helps me to meet any of them.

I send out my plea to devs, to bring back the community to our games, and get us into a situation where we can make more life-long memories. Join me in the plea on our forums.

Shayalyn's Epic Thread of the Day

From our Aion General Discussion Forum

Incoming Updates to 1.5 (XP Boosts) 'sigh :(

If Khalus, one of our community members, is interpreting the Korean charts correctly, there's a significant boost to experience gain coming to Aion's post-25 levels. Which means you'll level faster. Which means, at least to Khalus, that NCSoft has caved in to the moanings of its western player base who complain that the leveling curve is way too steep.

Khalus likes the leveling curve where it is--he doesn't want Aion to become "as easy as WoW." Do you agree with him? Should leveling stay as it is, or is it too much of a grind at higher levels, as some players contend? Discuss!

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Awesome Quotes from the Epic Thread

"Umm... Khal, 30-40 range is a mind-numbing grind, even with quests from what Ive heard. If NC Korea is pushing this through then there is something going on in Korea that prompted this. Not NA whiners that made NC push this through."

- kitsunegirl
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Have you spotted an Epic Thread on our forums? Tell us!

7 new Ten Ton Hammer MMOG features today! 33 in October! 1,081 in 2009!

Today's New MMO Coverage and Features

'New Eden' to Provide Communication, Organization in EVE's Universe
We've heard about New Eden (formerly "Cosmos") for several years now, but with CCP's redoubled efforts to expand the EVE universe into new market segments, a social networking portal to get your "EVE away from EVE" becomes understandable and perhaps even necessary. We'll explore New Eden's features and what the concept will mean to current and future players in this new article - "New Eden" to Provide Communication, Organization in EVE's Universe - from last weekend's EVE FanFest 2009.
EVE Online's Statistics Revealed
EVE Online is unapologetically a game built for the spreadsheet hounds, so we thought we'd bring you some of the more interesting stats and figures we heard over the course of the weekend's FanFest 2009. It's rare that you have a game developer so open about their numbers, so a big word of thanks goes out to CCP for offering us a peek behind the curtain.
Video - The Zany Adventures of Developing Fallen Earth
Have you ever committed yourself so much to something that at the end of it all, you can't remember how to tie your own shoes? Of course you have, you're an MMO player. We all have. Well, the same holds true for the guys at Icarus Studios. Witness first hand shocking footage of developers letting loose during a brainstorming session. Not for the feint of heart.
Editorial - How Much is Too Much: A Look at the Saturation of the MMOG Market
While the influx of players into the realm of online gaming is great for the industry, have we begun to reach a point of market saturation that will ultimately kill it off? Has the rising popularity begun to push our beloved genre towards being a fad that will eventually jump the shark, or are there still more players just waiting for that perfect game to bring them into the fold as well? Join Medawky this week as he takes at look at the crowded spaces of online worlds.
Scenery Video from Dragon Oath
Last week we took a look at the classes of Dragon Oath. This week we take a look at the world. The game holds true to its story telling and renders an ancient world filled with magic, mysticism and deities. Experience the story first hand as you explore the geography, cities and ruins of the free-to-play MMOG.
Lifestyles of the Rich and Good Looking - Making Kinah in Aion
New gear, fancy weapons, and a fabulous set of stigma stones; all those Aion goodies cost kinah…lots and lots of kinah. If you’re finding yourself light in the purse then you need these quick and easy money making tips that will have you soon living the lifestyle you know you deserve. And we won’t even charge you for it.
Editorial - Reviewing Responsibly
The subject of reviewing videogames has long been a touchy subject among the hobby’s fans. More than console or standalone titles, MMOGs are extremely tricky beasts to review. There are around FIFTY reviews already out for the recently released Champions Online and it's just now a month old. William “JoBildo” Murphy urges the critics of the gaming world to think carefully before assigning their verdict to a newly launched world in this editorial.